Chapter 25: Gatheringâ”Xixi, Why Don’t You Have Any Pity for Me?”
Yu Xi didn’t hear clearly at first and asked him to repeat.
Zhang Xingkuo scratched his hair. “I said since you don’t mind, I want a kiss too… no, a cheek kiss.”
“Ah.” Yu Xi was stunned.
Was this something one could actually take the initiative to ask for?
This moment of hesitation ignited the sense of unfairness in Zhang Xingkuoâs heart again. His brow was full of grievance, and he grew more self-righteous as he spoke: “He did it, so I want to do it too! You can’t be partial toward him, Xiao Xi.”
This situation made Yu Xi feel as if he had returned to childhood. Zhang Xingkuo had always been like thisâif he saw Yu Xi holding hands or hugging another child, he would definitely follow suit and demand double or even more.
“I am your best friend, so you should give me more.”
Back then, Zhang Xingkuo always had this sentence on his lips; he had to be the most special person.
Little Yu Xi couldn’t figure out if there was a problem with that sentence, but as an adult, he found it helpless yet amusing, and still chose to indulge him.
“Okay, but let’s not rush. Youâre still driving.”
Zhang Xingkuoâs eyes lit up instantly. All his unhappy emotions were swept away, and he became visibly elated. “Great.”
However, he didn’t find another chance after that. Zhang Xingkuo wanted to avoid the others and do it secretly, so he kept waitingâwaiting from driving to eating, and then from eating back to driving.
It wasn’t until he had sent Yu Xi back to school and they were about to separate that he planned to seize the last moment to ask. But before he could open his mouth, the figures of others appeared by the car window.
“Iâm going. Bye-bye, Xingxing.” Yu Xi unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car, waving at him.
“…Bye-bye.” Zhang Xingkuo saw him off with a brooding gaze.
At night, Yu Xi checked his phone and saw the message Zhang Xingkuo sent after leaving.
[Xiao Xi must not forget what he promised me.]
[You still owe me a cheek kiss!!!!!]
Several red emoji exclamation marks, as if afraid it wasn’t eye-catching enough.
Yu Xi let out a small sigh: [I know, Iâll give it to you.]
However, this “cheek kiss debt” remained unpaid for several more days. On the fourteenth day of military training, Beijing University held a performance showcase in the afternoon. After the hard training results were inspected, the freshmen finally gained liberation from this hellish military training.
Yu Xi changed out of his military training uniform, showered, put on clean and fresh clothes, and put on his small satchel.
“Planning to go out?” Zhou Anhe asked.
Yu Xi nodded, the corners of his mouth lifted, his dark eyes sparkling. His whole person had brightened by several degrees, like a child about to go on a spring outing, carrying a hidden anticipation. “My friends are picking me up for dinner.”
Liu Yuan, who was washing clothes, poked his head out from the sink. “Ah? I was thinking that since military training is finally over, we could all go out for a good meal together.”
Hearing this, Yu Xi showed a look of conflict. After some weighing, he still chose his friends. “How about next time? I can treat as compensation.”
“Does it need to be your treat?” Xiao Yang took off the headphones on his head, turned around, and said, “Weâll go to the French restaurant my family owns then. It won’t cost anything.”
“Really!” Liu Yuan jumped out from the sink area excitedly.
Xiao Yang rolled his eyes. “Why would I lie? Itâs just a meal; is there a need to lie?”
Liu Yuan shouted, “Senior Xiao!!”
Zhou Anhe said, “Yu Xi, you go ahead. Don’t keep your friends waiting too long.”
Yu Xi responded, “Thank you, Xiao Yang. Iâm going now, bye!”
He waved and left the dormitory impatiently.
Xiao Yang, nestled in the sofa, knitted his brows and let out a “Tsk.” “Itâs just a free meal. Is there a need to smile so beautifully at me?”
Yu Xi only learned about going out for dinner after receiving a call from Sheng Yunshu at noon, saying everyone wanted to gather.
He thought this time it would also be her or Zhang Xingkuo picking him up, but at the main gate, he saw an unexpected person.
In front of the familiar car, a tall figure was waiting. His deep blue thin-striped black shirt had two buttons open, sunglasses were hanging from the collar, and his sleeves were casually rolled up. His superior build and posture alone projected a temperament completely different from those around him.
The originally cold eyes immediately overflowed with a shallow smile upon spotting Yu Xi, gaining warmth in an instant.
“Xixiâ”
Gu Chuanzhou stepped forward to greet him. The first thing he did was carefully examine Yu Xiâs face, knitting his brows. “A bit thinner. Was military training very hard?”
“It was okay. Actually, Iâm not thinner; Iâm sturdier. Look!” Yu Xi grabbed his sleeve to show his arm to Gu Chuanzhou.
It was still a snowy-white, well-proportioned section; no obvious muscles could be seen.
The corner of Gu Chuanzhouâs mouth hooked slightly. He reached out and gently squeezed that soft piece of meat, choosing to cater to Yu Xiâs expectation and nodding quite seriously. “Mhm, you have become much sturdier.”
“Hehe.” Yu Xi curved his brows and eyes with pride, then asked Gu Chuanzhou, “Have you finished your business trip? Was work tiring?”
“Just finished. I came directly to find you from the airport. Itâs not tiring.” Gu Chuanzhou answered his question. While opening the car door for him, his gaze paused again. He reached out his hand and tilted Yu Xiâs chin up, observing the side of his neck with gravity.
Yu Xi stayed in position without moving, blinking uncomprehendingly. “Whatâs wrong?”
“Thereâs a sunburn here.”
Gu Chuanzhou used the fingertip of his other hand to gently touch the spot that looked like a cloud of cherry blossom pink. The itch made Yu Xiâs shoulder shrink slightly.
“Do you not even feel pain?” The smile vanished from Gu Chuanzhouâs brow, and he looked quite serious.
“Itâs okay…” Yu Xi thought about it seriously, his voice unconsciously becoming very small. “I think it did sting a bit while I was showering… I applied sunscreen properly, but I don’t know why it still got sunburnt. But itâs okay; itâll be fine in a couple of days.”
He didn’t really care about this small sunburn. Several girls in the camp with delicate skin were also like thisâsunburn was inevitable during military training in such hot weather. But Gu Chuanzhou didn’t think so.
He quickly brought him into the car and bought an ointment at the nearest pharmacy.
“Come, Iâll help you apply the medicine.”
Gu Chuanzhou returned to the car, opened the box, quickly and carefully scanned the instructions, wiped his fingers clean with a wet wipe, and unscrewed the cap.
Yu Xi obediently tilted his left shoulder toward him. He first felt his back collar being pulled down a bit, exposing half of his back shoulder, and then felt the ointment being applied.
The ointment was a transparent gel, with a texture like aloe. It felt icy and comfortable when applied, making him take a small intake of breath. Then it felt good, but the finger applying it was hot.
“Does it hurt?”
Gu Chuanzhou was still worried, gently blowing a breath onto his shoulder.
The coolness became more obvious under the blowing. Yu Xi squinted his eyes and said, “It doesn’t hurt.”
Inadvertently, he discovered in the rearview mirror that he and Gu Chuanzhou were very close. From a certain angle, it looked as if Gu Chuanzhou had pressed his face against his neck. But the small portion of the profile exposed had a very serious and earnest expression, as if he were performing some precise experiment that allowed no room for error.
Gu Chuanzhou said in a low voice again, “Xixi must cherish himself more, otherwise Iâll be worried.”
Yu Xi instinctively wanted to apologize, but retracted it in time, because he clearly knew Gu Chuanzhou wouldn’t want to hear that answer. He changed it and gave a simple response: “Okay, I will.”
Sure enough, the man applying medicine for him in the mirror relaxed his brows slightly.
“Done.” Gu Chuanzhou put away the ointment and placed it in the zipper of Yu Xiâs satchel. “Remember to apply it before you go to sleep tonight too. Iâll remind you then.”
“I knowâ” Yu Xi responded with a drawn-out tone.
Halfway through the drive, Sheng Yunzhuan called.
“Gu. Chuan. Zhou. Have you picked up Xiao Xi? Why are you so slow? Everyoneâs waiting for you.”
Gu Chuanzhou replied, “On the way.”
“Truly sluggish. I knew I shouldn’t have let you pick him up. If I did it personally, it would definitely be better.” Sheng Yunzhuan grumbled quite a bit. She first said Gu Chuanzhouâs movements were slow, then said Gu Chuanzhou was away on a business trip for half a month, yet he was very good at picking his timeâfinishing all his business during the military training and rushing back to pick someone up at the best time.
“You have more hidden motives than holes in a hornet’s nest, and theyâre just as poisonous.”
These words were all played through the carâs speakers, heard clearly by Yu Xi.
Gu Chuanzhou didn’t say a word, allowing himself to be “scolded.” In the middle, he cast a helpless and aggrieved look at Yu Xi.
“Fine, hurry up… no, you better drive slowly. Youâre done for if Xiao Xi gets carsick.”
After speaking, Sheng Yunzhuan hung up the phone with a “click.”
“She seems to have always disliked me. If I hadn’t asked Yunshu, I wouldn’t even have known about the dinner tonight… Don’t you think sheâs a bit out of line?”
Gu Chuanzhou began to complain. Seeing Yu Xi secretly laughing with his face turned to the other side in his peripheral vision, he let out a sigh. “Xixi, why don’t you have any pity for me?”
Yu Xi hurriedly suppressed his smile. “Then what do you want me to do?”
“You must sit with me tonight and take more care of me.” Gu Chuanzhou immediately made a request. “After all, Iâm the one being excluded. If you don’t pay more attention to me, Iâll be very lonely.”
Yu Xi suppressed his laughter and agreed.
…
Ten minutes later, the car stopped at a Japanese restaurant.
The interior decoration was all in a cool and beautiful wabi-sabi style. The waiters were dressed in kimonos, leading them into a raw-wood-colored private room.
It was Yu Xiâs first time eating Japanese food, and he looked around with novelty.
Gu Chuanzhou reminded him in advance, “This is the place Lin Shuhuai picked. If you aren’t used to the food, tell me.”
Yu Xi: “Iâm not a picky eater.”
Of course, green peppers and ginger were exceptions.
Rounding the ukiyo-e screen, he saw everyone was already seated, with two empty seats remaining.
“Xiao Xi, come quickly!” Sheng Yunzhuan hurriedly pressed down the rising Zhang Xingkuo and waved at Yu Xi repeatedly.
Yu Xi didn’t forget the promise he had made with Gu Chuanzhou in advance. He naturally pulled Gu Chuanzhou to sit in the two empty seats. “Iâll sit here then; I can face you.”
The originally somewhat unhappy Sheng Yunzhuan felt that this wasn’t bad and didn’t make a scene.
Only Zhang Xingkuo on the diagonal let out a very obvious “Tsk” with a displeased face.
“Since everyone is here, letâs serve the food. Xiao Xi must be hungry.” Lin Shuhuai called the waiter.
One after another, exquisite and small Japanese dishes were brought to the table, along with several pots of fresh-colored alcohol.
Yu Xi picked up a pot and sniffed itâa sweet floral and fruity scent. The alcohol scent was faint and not obvious.
Lin Shuhuai had already poured half a cup for him and pushed it to his hand, coaxing him with a smile, “Itâs rare for us to be gathered today. Why don’t you give it a try?”
Translator’s Note:
- Wabi-sabi (äžĺŻ): A Japanese aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. In the context of the story, it means the restaurant is minimalist and high-end.
- Senior Xiao (čĺĽ): “Xiao Ge”âa respectful way to address the roommate, but also shows they are becoming friends.
- The “Debt” (ĺľ): In these romance novels, a “debt” of a kiss is a major plot device for future physical intimacy!
- Gu Chuanzhou’s Manipulation: He’s so “black-bellied”! He knows exactly how to act pitiful to get Yu Xi’s attention.
- Drunk Yu Xi Preview: Alcohol + the “Group Pet” protagonist usually leads to some very cute and embarrassing scenes. Stay tuned!
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